Collection
Library's review
Meh. Noir-style things are often a hard sell for me despite my wanting to like them because there's frequently a lot of misogyny and other such things in the genre. For example, I liked the character of Eliza and I liked Matt falling hard for her--it felt fast, but I was sold on it--until the being the Bull's-Eye Killer , but making the reason why she does what she does be "because she's crazy!" doesn't sit well with me. It's a harmful stereotype against people with mental illness and poor writing.
Also I feel like there should be a way to do noir-style art that doesn't leave me guessing which character I'm looking at in each panel based on context clues. Between two-thirds of every character being in shadows and the other third being stylized noir-grit, good luck recognizing anyone except Daredevil. Even Matt himself was difficult to recognize outside of his red Daredevil costume.
Also, and I realize this is a somewhat minor nitpick, but I feel like Matt being Foggy's employee is a characterization misstep. Nelson and Murdock are partners, and them having an inherently unequal relationship sat wrong with me.
So, like with most noir-type things, I wanted to like this more than I did.
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Re-read this a second time, and I'm upping the rating from 2 stars to 4 stars. Know what to expect, I think, helped make this a more coherent read for me and thus a more effective one. I very much enjoyed this the second time around.
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revelation that she was a "psychopath." I didn't mind the twist of her Also I feel like there should be a way to do noir-style art that doesn't leave me guessing which character I'm looking at in each panel based on context clues. Between two-thirds of every character being in shadows and the other third being stylized noir-grit, good luck recognizing anyone except Daredevil. Even Matt himself was difficult to recognize outside of his red Daredevil costume.
Also, and I realize this is a somewhat minor nitpick, but I feel like Matt being Foggy's employee is a characterization misstep. Nelson and Murdock are partners, and them having an inherently unequal relationship sat wrong with me.
So, like with most noir-type things, I wanted to like this more than I did.
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Re-read this a second time, and I'm upping the rating from 2 stars to 4 stars. Know what to expect, I think, helped make this a more coherent read for me and thus a more effective one. I very much enjoyed this the second time around.
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Series
Publication
New York : Marvel Noir, 2010.
Description
"Prohibition-era Hell's Kitchen is Kingpin territory, and until now, his only problem has been the masked vigilante known as Daredevil. When gangster Orville Halloran arrives on the scene, fresh from a stretch in Sing Sing and eager to stretch his wings, Hell's about to get hotter. For P.I. Foggy Nelson and his loyal assistant Matt Murdock, it all starts when a desperate woman comes to their office with an irresistible story about her and Halloran. To Foggy, she's a client -- to Murdock, she's enough to make Halloran Daredevil's next target. But Murdock is about to find out that half-truths are poison truths, and that the Kitchen is full of history that will put him on a collision course with both the old Kingpin and the man who wants to replace him" -- from publisher's web site.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member schatzi
I love a good noir story, so I figured that I would really enjoy the Noir series of stories from Marvel. Some of them have been good, some of them have been blah, and most of them have been somewhere in-between. Daredevil Noir is one of those middling stories; it's an okay read, but there's nothing
Daredevil usually has a noirish feel to it anyway, so the character seems like the perfect fit for a Noir take. Daredevil, a former Vaudeville performer who now dons his costume to fight crime in Hell's Kitchen, is not a lawyer here - who's ever heard of a blind lawyer? (He asks himself that question.) Instead, he works for Foggy Nelson, who apparently isn't a lawyer either, but more a private investigator.
I just didn't feel that drawn into the story. It was obvious from the beginning who was going to be the Bull's Eye Killer - after all, every great noir story needs a "dame" who has her own agenda, right? And with the character of Lady Bullseye being introduced in Brubaker's recent run of Daredevil, it didn't take much effort to put two and two together.
The art, as typical with the Noir stories, is really dark. While this helps set the tone of the story, it also makes telling apart certain characters difficult at times. At one point, I mixed up Foggy Nelson and the Kingpin. I wish that the art was a bit clearer.
Although it has nothing to do with the quality of the story, I'm disappointed in how Marvel has been printing these Noir collections. The trade paperback is smaller than typical trades, and the paper is an inferior quality to the standard glossy paper that is used for trade collections. They've been using this method of printing on other collections too (Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers comes to mind, all the while charging the normal trade paperback price!); if this trend continues or expands, I won't be buying nearly as many Marvel trades in the future.
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really spectacular about the story, either.Daredevil usually has a noirish feel to it anyway, so the character seems like the perfect fit for a Noir take. Daredevil, a former Vaudeville performer who now dons his costume to fight crime in Hell's Kitchen, is not a lawyer here - who's ever heard of a blind lawyer? (He asks himself that question.) Instead, he works for Foggy Nelson, who apparently isn't a lawyer either, but more a private investigator.
I just didn't feel that drawn into the story. It was obvious from the beginning who was going to be the Bull's Eye Killer - after all, every great noir story needs a "dame" who has her own agenda, right? And with the character of Lady Bullseye being introduced in Brubaker's recent run of Daredevil, it didn't take much effort to put two and two together.
The art, as typical with the Noir stories, is really dark. While this helps set the tone of the story, it also makes telling apart certain characters difficult at times. At one point, I mixed up Foggy Nelson and the Kingpin. I wish that the art was a bit clearer.
Although it has nothing to do with the quality of the story, I'm disappointed in how Marvel has been printing these Noir collections. The trade paperback is smaller than typical trades, and the paper is an inferior quality to the standard glossy paper that is used for trade collections. They've been using this method of printing on other collections too (Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers comes to mind, all the while charging the normal trade paperback price!); if this trend continues or expands, I won't be buying nearly as many Marvel trades in the future.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
What if Daredevil was a character from a noir era? What if it was prohibition period US? An era where it would be unthinkable for a blind kid from Hells Kitchen to become a successful lawyer? What if instead he worked with Foggy as an investigator, having left his career in vauldeville? This is the
Readable, very dark and sometimes the flashback storytelling doesn't quite work for me, but I found it quite readable and fun.
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story of those what-ifs. A story with a character who is both like and unlike the Daredevil that is usually in the stories but an interesting story all the same. It also features Kingpin and Bullseye (with an interesting twist)Readable, very dark and sometimes the flashback storytelling doesn't quite work for me, but I found it quite readable and fun.
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LibraryThing member shaososa
I love the idea of Marvel's Noir spinoffs: The visuals are gritty and the dialogue snappy. However, in recreating Matt Murdock as a gumshoe who falls for one of his clients, the story ends up recycled pulp with a "twist" one can see coming easier than a freight train.
LibraryThing member aadyer
Dark, brooding, suitably noir, & unsettling. Dark, line art adds to the atmosphere. A variant of the Daredevil legend that has transposed well to 1930's Prohbition New York. Recommended. My only criticism, is that the story arc is long & predictable but overall still worth a look.